Review Blog

Aug 22 2014

Awe of Mercury by Elon Dann

Hot Key Books, 2014. ISBN 9781471401190.
(Ages: 14+ ) Highly Recommended. Survival. Friendship. Gruesome.
Deceit. The Spiral is an underground, circular prison that rotates
each prisoner one cell to their left each day. This will continue
until the prisoner has reached the last cell where they will receive
their last meal. Mo is a 17 year-old boy who is imprisoned in the
Spiral along with his cellmate, Nonstop. Mo is being held for
escaping an institution along with his friends, Harete and Moth.
Unbeknownst to them this also caused a civil war throughout the
Fatherland. The Kernel is the name of Mo's subconscious that has now
taken a mind of its own, offering advice and even sometimes
controlling him. The only method of communication they have is the
Cellphone; this is where prisoners bang out a sequence of coded
words onto pipes, which will then travel to any other cell in the
spiral. Rumours of Moth ruling the Fatherland begin to circulate,
causing much mental as well as physical annoyance to Mo making him
feel betrayed and vowing revenge on Moth. An anagram message reveals
someone he deeply cares about is trying to help him; this causing Mo
and Nonstop to pull off an escape worthy of Houdini himself. Whilst
they were escaping they also befriended a terminally ill prisoner
called Mystrica. Beginning their journey into the woods, a nearby
military drone firing a laser at Mo causes him to go blind. Now Mo
and his friends must find a place to take refuge.
The relationships that develop between the protagonist and the minor
characters in the book as they help each other to adapt to
lives as escapees in a war-torn country are enjoyable to watch
progress and see how one can help another grow. This is especially
evident between Mo and Nonstop who at first could not even bear to
be in the same cell as each other, but eventually grow closer than
brothers. The use of a multi-layered narrative allows the book to be
read as poetic enhancing of the experience and makes you ponder a wide
variety of subject matter including war, redemption, corruption and
even our very existence. Nonstop's comparison between Justice and
Cheese sums up their rights being revoked 'It comes in wheels, it's
often full of wholes, sometimes it's mouldy, and by the time we get
to see any it's been cut very, very thinly. Oh and the stuff they
have abroad is usually better than ours.' An emotionally powerful
story with excellent characters and refreshingly witty dialogue.
Corey Joyce (Student)